Environmental Update (September 2009)
Record £271,800 Fine for Red Bull
The Red Bull Company Ltd has been ordered to pay a record
£271,800 after failing to recover and recycle packaging waste.
The London based soft drinks importer pleaded guilty at
Southwark Crown Court to charges of failing to register with the
Environment Agency as a producer of packaging waste, and charges of
failing to meet its requirements to recover and recycle packaging
waste with respect to each of the eight years between 1999 and
2006, a total of sixteen charges.
The company was fined £261,278.00 and ordered to pay
£3755.00 in costs to the Environment Agency (EA). It was also
ordered to pay compensation of £6854.00 to the EA for unpaid
registration fees for the years 1999 to 2006 inclusive.
This overtakes the previous highest fine of £225,000 which was
imposed in January 2008 on a Midlands company that also failed to
register as a producer of packaging waste.
Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste)
Regulations 2007, businesses that have an annual turnover in excess
of £2 million and handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year
must be registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance
scheme. Each year, obligated businesses must also provide evidence
of payment for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste.
Red Bull Company Ltd approached the EA on 8 July 2007 to say
that it was not registered with the EA or a compliance scheme. By
not registering it was estimated that Red Bull made a saving of
more than £180,000.